Book One: Anastasia Fawley and the Trouble with being a Ravenclaw
by Cassandrahaven
Summary: Anastasia starts her first year at Hogwarts. She thinks she knows exactly what is waiting for her, but life never goes as planned. As she and Draco travel through their first year, she realizes how difficult it is to be hated for your Pureblooded, Death Eater-filled family. This story sticks mostly to the plot of the novels with divergencies to allow for an OC.
1. Chapter 1

Anastasia Fawley was reading in her family library when an owl flew in. Before looking up, she finished her paragraph and bookmarked the page. Standing, she made her way to the letter the owl had dropped upon the floor. It was addressed to "Miss Anastasia Fawley" and had her address in a beautiful calligraphy-type scrawl. The letter was sealed with red wax and an "H" stamp. As she opened the letter, her eyes searched for the unfamiliar owl, but it was already gone. Shrugging, she made her way back to the couch to read the letter. Almost as soon as she had sat down, Anastasia popped back up and was running down the hall.

"Mother! Mother!" she screamed as she hopped down the stairs. She rounded the corner into the living room to find her mother had guests. Anastasia paused and bowed her head to hide its blush and embarrassed smile. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were having tea with Rosaline Fawley. "I'm sorry to interrupt," Anastasia stated. "I was excited to receive my Hogwarts letter."

"Draco received his this morning. That's why we came by. We were just discussing with your mother when the best time to visit Diagon Alley would be," Narcissa informed the young girl, a hint of pride in her voice.

"Of course. I'll return to my reading now," Anastasia said, allowing her brown hair to hide her face as she turned back toward the stairwell. Hearing the voices pick up again, she stopped before climbing back up to the second floor.

"Rosaline, have you told her yet?" Narcissa said, clearly trying to keep her voice low.

"No, not yet. What am I supposed to say? 'Oh, hunny, your father will be released from prison soon. Would you like to be pulled out of school to see him?' She doesn't even know him!" Rosaline stated.

"It was only a ten-year sentence," Lucius chimed in. "It is a pity he was sentenced at all, but he handled it well. There were simply too many people willing to speak up against a Ministry official as high ranking as him. You know he had not acted on any orders in months, Rosaline. He all but quit when he married you. Besides the meetings, many of us never saw him. He only grew more distant after Anastasia's birth. I believe he should have made an effort to remain more active, but that is not the point. You should be proud of what he did accomplish for the cause."

"Why yes, it was a pity that my husband hasn't seen his daughter in ten years while you've walked free every day despite committing far worse crimes than him! You could have used the imperius curse excuse to save him too!" Rosaline stated through gritted teeth. It took all of her effort not to yell, but the last thing the woman wanted was for her daughter to overhear the conversation.

Anastasia, ironically eavesdropping, was surprised by what she heard. She had never heard her mother discuss her father's imprisonment. In fact, it had been months since she heard the man's name spoken in the house, and she was surprised her mother so openly discussed the matter with the Malfoys. Anastasia knew the Malfoys had been friends with her parents since before either couple was married, but she just assumed no one spoke of her father anymore. She was confused that her mother thought Lucius belonged in prison rather than her father, and part of her wanted to rush back into the living room and ask what was going on.

Sighing, she finally climbed back up the stairs. Anastasia knew better than to try and force answers out of her mother, especially when it regarded her father's imprisonment. All she knew was that he went to Askaban after the war ended and that he would be out just after she started at Hogwarts. Whenever Anastasia stated that it felt like a long time to wait to meet her father, Rosaline reminded the girl that Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, the young girl's two uncles, were imprisoned in Askaban for life. Rosaline was very grateful that her husband would be released and given the chance to watch their only child go through school./

* * *

A few days after receiving her Hogwarts letter, Anastasia came downstairs to find a large breakfast on the table. Her mother was reading _The Daily Prophet_ as she ate. Seeing Anastasia enter, Rosaline set the paper down and smiled. "Eat up, little one. We have a long day of shopping for school supplies ahead of us," she said before again picking up the paper.

Anastasia was overwhelmed with excitement. She had been looking forward to shopping for school since the owl arrived, and, once shopping was complete, she knew she was only days away from leaving for Hogwarts. As sad as she would be to leave her mother, Anastasia had been looking forward to Hogwarts for as long as she could remember. Much like her mother, Anastasia loved to learn. Most of her free time was spent devouring books in the Fawley family library, and Rosaline always joked that the young girl would run out of books to read before she even made it to school.

Anastasia ate quickly but made sure not to go so fast as to upset her stomach or to receive a reproachful glance from her mother. She tried to imagine all the new books she would have by the day's end. Spellcasting, history, potions, and so many more! If she planned her remaining days right, Anastasia could have the books read before she boarded the train for school. That would maximize her time at school to read library books, and it would help her get ahead in all of her courses.

The doorbell rang and interrupted Anastasia's planning. The house-elf passed through the dining room to answer the door and returned with the Malfoys in tow. After bowing low to introduce the family, the house-elf retreated back to the kitchen. Rosaline rose to greet the family friends. She hugged Narcissa and accepted a kiss on the cheek from Lucius. Draco came to stand beside Anastasia's chair and took a pastry off the table.

"Your house-elf is a better cook than ours. Ours really is useless," the blonde boy said.

Swallowing, Anastasia retorted, "Maybe if you weren't so cruel to him, Draco. Saying 'please' and 'thank you' instead of kicking the poor thing might make your food taste better."

Draco snorted as a response, and Lucius shook his head and said, "You're filling the girl's head with your nonsense, Rosaline."

"I'm filling her head with manners, Lucius. Something your son could stand to learn from," Rosaline responded, walking back to the table to fold her paper up and set it aside.

Anastasia and Draco stopped chewing at the insult Rosaline so easily threw at Lucius. The two children shared a concerned and confused look. Their parents never fought, not in front of them at least. Lucius always made comments about Anastasia being an unusual and impractical child, but Rosaline typically laughed it off or made a comment about how Anastasia took after her mother. Anastasia had never heard her mother insult anyone, and the insult greatly surprised the young girl.

"Draco is marrying your daughter, Rosaline; you will have to learn to like him sooner or later," Lucius spat back at her.

Anastasia and Draco took that moment to finally swallow and scoot away from the table. Standing by each other's side, almost as if in defense of an oncoming attack, the two made their way upstairs to grab Anastasia's school list and hide from the unusual argument. Whatever was going on between their parents, the two children knew better than to stand around and listen. They might have been curious about the reason behind the harsh comments, but lingering too long would find them in some kind of trouble.

Sighing, Rosaline sat back down. "Lucius, I'm sorry," she said. "I love Draco as my own son, you know that. Our kids love each other, and they will be a perfect match one day. The stress over Allister's release is getting to me. A complaint has been filed that, as a former Death Eater, Allister's punishment should be changed to a lifetime sentence rather than a ten-year one. The Ministry is sitting down to discuss it tomorrow."

Narcissa gasped. "They can't just change the sentencing like that, can they? After all this time? He's supposed to go free in time for Christmas!"

"Why haven't I heard anything about this?" Lucius cried, enraged at the sudden betrayal to his friend.

"I was told it's been kept underwraps to try and prevent an outcry. Allister was a member of the Magical Law Enforcement and months away from a seat on the Wizengamot. People are arguing that his position at the Ministry led to leniency in his sentence. These people are obviously unaware that being guilty of conspiracy has never before sent a wizard to Askaban," Rosaline explained, clearly exasperated at the whole ordeal.

"He will come home to you, Rosaline; I will make sure of that," Lucius promised, striding over to place a hand on her shoulder. "I have already been in conversation with his old bosses to reinstate him within the Ministry. It won't be easy to place a criminal back in the Magical Law Enforcement, but I think we will be able to pull it off. He served far more time than he should have, and he was well-known and admired. It would be a much lower position, but it would give him his life back."

Rosaline smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Lucius. You're an incredibly generous friend." Rosaline stood and leaned against the stairwell. "Anastasia! Draco! We're leaving now!" The kids rushed down and made their way toward the front door, clearly oblivious of the serious conversation their parents had just been engaged in.

* * *

"First one to the platform buys the other a chocolate frog!" Draco yelled as he ran past Platform 8 in King's Cross Station.

"No fair! You said that after you had already started running!" Anastasia called to him, trying desperately to catch up. Draco was only half a platform ahead of her, and she had no intention of going down that easy. /

"No running in the train station!" a guard yelled, pulling on Draco's luggage cart to slow him down. Anastasia saw her chance and started sprinting. Her luggage cart was heavy, but she only had a few seconds to catch and pass Draco. The guard was distracted by lecturing her friend, so she ran past him, jumped to place her feet on the bottom of the luggage cart, and slid straight through the pillar between Platforms 9 and 10. Reaching Platform 9 ¾, she placed her feet back on the ground to slow herself. Turning, she waited for an unhappy Draco to make his way through the pillar and tell her that she cheated.

"Just as she had predicted, Draco came through the pillar and started to yell at her. "I'm no fair? You're the one who kept running after I got in trouble! I'm not buying you a chocolate frog!"

"Rosaline, Narcissa, and Lucius stepped through the pillar and onto the platform. "Quiet!" Lucius ordered. "You're making fools of yourselves. We raised you better."

Anastasia and Draco quieted and straightened their stance. The two obediently followed their parents through the maze of bodies to where the luggage was being stacked. Abandoning their carts for someone else to load, the group made their way back toward the center of the platform. They stood in silence for some time as the surrounding families made tearful and emotional goodbyes. The train was set to take off in ten minutes, and Anastasia and Draco were uncertain of whether or not they should be excited to board or dismayed at leaving their parents for the first time.

Anastasia found herself fascinated at the number of people on the platform. She knew all students who attended Hogwarts rode the Hogwarts Express, but the sheer number of students amazed her. Suddenly she found herself intimidated by all the older students, but she reminded herself that it was a school. Not everyone would be her age, and that was okay. She just wasn't used to being around people so much older than her. Her childhood had left her fairly devoid of friends. With her uncles in prison and Draco's only aunt there as well, they were never surrounded by cousins, and the Fawley and Malfoy families had a tendency to keep to themselves.

Her intimidation waned as Rosaline placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. Rosaline leaned down and whispered in her daughter's ear, "You'll do fine, little one. You're already one of the smartest first-year students, and you already have a best friend. Remember Draco will always be by your side, and you will come to know the people in Slytherin House. Your father and I both were Slytherins, as were Narcissa and Lucius. It's where you belong; you'll find your home there."

Anastasia smiled and found herself feeling incredibly reassured. Her mother was right: she would have a home waiting for her at Hogwarts. She would find herself friends, and, once she wrote home to her mother about all the people she had met, Rosaline would share stories of the children's parents. Perhaps the most comforting part of knowing she would be a Slytherin was knowing that her mother knew the parents of all the other students she would meet. Once at school, Anastasia would be able to find herself among friends and could devote her time to studying rather than acquainting herself with all the strangers that surrounded her.

Still smiling, she turned to hug her mother goodbye. "I love you, mother."

"I love you too, little one," Rosaline said into her daughter's hair. Pushing the young girl's hair away to get one last look at her daughter's face, Rosaline was struck by the girl's bright blue eyes. Anastasia looked almost exactly like her mother except, by some happy circumstance, the girl had inherited her father's eyes. Whenever Rosaline found herself struggling as a single mother, she just had to look into her daughter's eyes to feel the reassurance of her missing husband wash over her.

Standing back up, Rosaline turned Anastasia around and propelled her daughter toward the train. If she waited much longer, her courage to let the girl go would dissipate. Luckily, at the same moment Rosaline was releasing Anastasia, Narcissa was pushing Draco away, a small tear evident on the woman's cheek. It was hard sending their children off to school, but it was for the best. Lucius would be glad to have a silent home for a few months, and being alone would give Rosaline the chance to prepare for her husband's return.

Draco, acting as if his mother's sentiments didn't phase him, began to make his way for the train. Anastasia followed, deciding it would be best for Draco to choose the car they would ride in. The two settled in an unoccupied car and slid the door shut. Neither felt prone to socializing; they both just wanted the train to start. They could almost taste the freedom from their parents. It was just a train ride away.

Surprisingly, no one tried to sit with them. Anastasia assumed there would be so many students that the train cars would have to be full, but it seemed that some were able to remain empty. She could see through the window on their car door that many students were moving from car to car and socializing in the hall, but she was content to sit in silence with Draco. The view through the window was incredible, and she was excited to be able to see the countryside.

When the sweets cart came by, Draco did buy her a chocolate frog. Mirabella Plunkett was on her card, and Newt Scamander was on Draco's. The cards celebrating women were always Anastasia's favorite. She loved all chocolate frog cards because each one provided the reader with a little piece of history, but the ones detailing women were just far more rare.

"Do you know what our parents were fighting about the other day before we purchased our school supplies?" Draco asked as soon as he had finished his chocolate frog. Anastasia looked down. She had a pretty good idea why their parents were fighting, but she felt it was all her fault. The last thing she wanted to do was to tell Draco that people were fighting over whether or not to tell her about her father. "Well?" he asked impatiently.

"I think so…" she began, wishing she was comfortable lying and saying no. "Your parents came for tea the day we got our acceptance letters, and I overheard them talking. They said my father is supposed to be released from Askaban soon," she looked up at him to try and gauge his response.

Draco leaned back into the seat cushion. "Well it's about time. My father says he was wrongfully imprisoned. It certainly took the Ministry long enough to let him out. I suppose we'll have a family dinner when he is released?" Draco didn't seem phased by the news, and it comforted Anastasia. She didn't expect Draco to question her on what details she knew about her father's release, but it was still a relief to know that they could essentially drop the subject. Since she walked away the other day, Anastasia didn't have anymore details, and she was worried the subject of her father might upset her the way it always upset her mother.

A comfortable silence again filled the train car. Draco seemed to be distracted by the beauty of the countryside just as much as she was. Anastasia was beginning to wonder if they would say anything else to each other before the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station. Just as she was thinking this, Draco spoke. "Do you remember anything about him?"

Anastasia looked at him. It was unlike Draco to ask personal questions. He was the type of person who enjoyed bragging and talking about himself, not about emotions and memories. "No," she began. "We were only one when he was taken away. I've tried asking mother about him, but she's never willing to share." Her gaze found the window again. Talking about her father was painful, but she supposed it was about time to do it. If he was going to be coming home soon, she would have to get used to talking about him.

"Do you want him to come home?" Draco asked, careful to try not to upset her in anyway.

Her gaze found his again. "Of course I do. I want to know my father, but it's scary. All I know is that he went to prison because of the war. Mother won't tell me anything else."

"Mother says you and your mother used to visit him."

Anastasia's eyes widened in shock. She didn't know she had ever seen her father in prison. "Did she mention why we stopped?"

"No. I asked why your father wasn't around once, and she told me he would be back soon. She said he went away for a while, and you and your mother kept him company one day your mother decided to stop visiting, so my mother wasn't able to tell me anything more about your father."

"I know mother and father met through your parents," Anastasia said, smiling at the memories of her mother's stories. Rosaline was always hesitant to talk about her husband and never said much, but she had no problem sharing with her daughter how the two met and married. "Your parents got married, and mother says father saw her that night. She says he just had to know her, and he asked your mother to put them in contact. Mother was with someone else at the time, she said, so father had to wait for that to end before he could sweep her away and marry her." Anastasia knew it sounded like a fairy tale, but she didn't care. She liked imagining her father as a romantic man. If he was a romantic, then she could believe that he was waiting in his prison cell to see her and her mother again. He would come home and sweep away the memories of the time without him, just like he swept Rosaline away all those years ago

"Father told me that before. He said they went to school together and were inseparable. That's why you and I are to get married; it will keep our families together." The two looked at each other and began to blush.

Silence fell on the train car again, but this time is was a touch awkward. Neither knew what to say to the other, so it was a relief when the door opened and two boys walked in. Anastasia vaguely recognized them, but Draco seemed to know them both. "Crabbe, Goyle," he said as a greeting. The boys sat down, one next to her and one next to Draco.

"People have been saying that Harry Potter is down this way," one said. Draco and Anastasia both looked up. They knew Harry Potter was their age, but no one had heard anything about him since the war ended. The Boy Who Lived had disappeared without a trace. To hear that he was on the train just a few cars down was incredible. "We've been looking for him. Are you coming?" the boys stood back up but didn't make their way toward the door. They seemed to be waiting for Draco.

Draco, however, seemed to be waiting for Anastasia. She desperately wanted to meet Harry Potter. He was, after all, a legend, but it felt intrusive to check every train car in search of him. Just because he was a celebrity didn't mean they needed to intrude upon him. After all, he was just an average student like them. The stories said he had some incredible power, and that was how he defeated the Dark Lord. Since he was just a baby at the time, Anastasia found this hard to believe. She was never allowed to learn about the stories anyway; any time the war or Harry Potter were mentioned, her mother informed her that the topic was not welcome within her home.

"I think I'll stay here. You can introduce me to him when we get to school," she said with a smile. She was too shy to go tracking down friends anyway.

"Suit yourself. I'll be back before we arrive," Draco said before leading the other boys out into the hall. Alone, Anastasia closed her eyes and waited for the train to stop.

* * *

As the students began to fill the platform at Hogsmeade Station, all of the first-years were directed to one side. An extremely loud voice was yelling, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" The crowd of eleven-year-olds followed the voice and found themselves gathered before a man who, if she didn't know better, Anastasia would have called a giant. However, she knew that there were almost no giants in the area anymore, and there was no way a school would employ a giant. In addition, giants grew to be much taller than the man before them, but he was an unusually tall person.

Once all of the first-years were rounded up, the man led them down a slippery path and to a lake. On the far side of the lake, Anastasia was given her first real-life glimpse of Hogwarts. The magnificent castle stood before her and glimmered in the moonlight. She was in awe at the size and beauty of the place. This would be her home for the next seven years, and Anastasia couldn't be more excited.

The boats guided the students across the lake and into a tunnel. The whole experience felt like a dream. Anastasia sat in a boat with Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, and she gazed at the mesmerizing scene before her. The boys had returned to the train car just moments before they arrived in Hogsmeade, so the three were just now discussing their encounter with Harry Potter. From the sound of it, Anastasia was glad she didn't join them. All three seemed frustrated with the situation.

The boats finally reached land again, and the students began unloading. They proceeded to climb a set of extremely steep steps and waited for someone to open the door for them. The woman who did was addressed as Professor McGonagall by the giant-man, and she appeared to be both cold and stern. She informed the students that they would be brought inside shortly and then sorted into their appropriate houses. As she made her way back inside, the students began to chatter, anxiety filling the space.

Anastasia and the boys who surrounded her remained calm. They all knew they would be sorted into Slytherin, so the wait was of no concern to them. One of the boys (she wasn't entirely sure of the difference between Crabbe and Goyle) mentioned that he was ready for the feast to begin. After both the train and boat with only a chocolate frog in her stomach, Anastasia couldn't help but agree.

She was about to inform the boys that she too was hungry when the students around her began to scream. Above them, a group of ghosts was floating and talking. They were in the process of wishing the students well with the sorting when Professor McGonagall reappeared and dismissed the ghosts. She instructed the students to form a line, and she led them into the Great Hall.

The older students and professors had already lined five massive tables. The hall was loud, but it quieted as the first-years made their way to the front. Professor McGonagall placed a stool before them and set a hat on top of it. Much to the surprise of those around her, the hat began to sing. When the hat quieted, Professor McGonagall informed the students that she would call their names and place the hat upon their heads. The hat would sort the students into their houses, and those houses would accept the students for the next seven years.

Professor McGonagall unrolled the large piece of parchment in her hand and began listing off names in alphabetical order. Anastasia patiently waited for her name. Crabbe was called and sorted into Slytherin, and she knew her time was fast approaching. While both of her and Draco knew they would be sorted into Slytherin, being called to sit under the Sorting Hat still had an air of excitement. Knowing also make the situation much less stressful. If they were uncertain as to their placement, they might be concerned about who they would meet and interact with. Instead, the two were able to observe the anxiety of others while they awaited the comfort of their destiny.

Finally, McGonagall yelled, "Fawley, Anastasia!" She strode forward and sat in the stool. She felt Professor McGonagall lightly place the worn and grumpy hat upon her head. Sitting up straight, she smiled and prepared for her placement into Slytherin. Surprisingly, she heard a small chuckle. "No, no, no. Not you, girl. You should know better than that," the hat whispered so softly that only she could hear. "RAVENCLAW," it called out, loud enough that every person within the Great Hall could hear.

Anastasia sat in stunned silence. Professor McGonagall lifted the hat and waited for her to move, but she couldn't. She just sat there. Tears filled her eyes and shame traveled through her body. She had failed. Her whole family was from Slytherin. She was to be a Slytherin. She had failed. Her whole life had been planned for her in advance, and now it was crumbling down around her. It was crumbling down on her small, eleven-year-old shoulders.

As she finally stood and made her way to the cheering Ravenclaw table, Anastasia couldn't bring herself to look at Draco. She was too ashamed of the unintentional betrayal she had just caused. The Malfoys would be disappointed. Her mother would be saddened but would eventually come to accept her daughter again. Anastasia wondered if her father would be able to accept her again as well. She hoped she wasn't an embarrassment to him. It would be a long road as she tried to accept herself and her new home, and the last thing she needed to worry about in this moment was disappointing the father she didn't know.

Upon sitting, she managed a meek smile at her new housemates. She tried to remind herself that being sorted into Ravenclaw was a matter of pride in its own right. Ravenclaws were known as the smartest students in Hogwarts. Anastasia's priority was her education, and there was no better place to advance her studies than within the Ravenclaw House. She would spend the next seven years surrounded by likeminded students who also had a passion to learn. If she focused, her education would be improved by her placement, and she should easily be able to make friends….she hoped.

When she finally had the courage to look up from the table, she saw Draco was staring at her. _He must have been looking at me this whole time_ , she thought. His face was confused, and she knew he must have been feeling a hint of betrayal. The two were supposed to go through school together and be inseparable, but, on the first day, they were already torn apart. The term hadn't even started yet, and she had lost her best friend.

A faint blush touched her cheeks as the eye contact continued. Attention was something she always struggled with, especially from Draco. She wasn't sure why it affected her so much, but it always did. Maybe it was intimidation she felt from his father, or maybe it was the pressure to make her future husband proud. _Well you certainly mucked that one up, didn't you?_ she thought. While Anastasia was embarrassed by her placement overall, she was immediately embarrassed that she had led Draco down. She had abandoned him, and there was nothing she could do to remedy it.

Draco kept his eyes locked on her until his name was called. She watched her friend step forward with his traditional smug smile dancing around his lips. As expected, Draco was sorted into Slytherin. He smugly sauntered over to the proper table where he was met by applause and high-fives. Unlike her, he was where he belonged. Draco found his home at Hogwarts. While still incredibly upset, Anastasia found herself mildly comforted that at least one of them was happy.

She watched his acceptance into the Slytherin House with a smile. Draco was a Malfoy, so his welcome to the Slytherin table was warm. The Malfoys were one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight Pureblood wizarding families, so Draco's placement into Slytherin was a matter of pride. The pride of Slytherin House would have been furthered had Anastasia joined the table. The Fawleys and Lestranges, Anastasia's mother's family, were also members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Anastasia was supposed to be guaranteed a home in Slytherin because the house was filled with Pureblood families that had the same priorities as her family. Unfortunately, the Sorting Hat was not concerned with her finding a home or being among like-minded families.

After Draco was sorted, Anastasia found herself spacing out. She was so lost that she couldn't pay attention to the remainder of the names. She vaguely heard Harry Potter was sorted into Gryffindor, but her mind was too numb to be affected by it. The boy was famous, but his life at Hogwarts would have nothing to do with hers. Her life was in turmoil, so knowing the whereabouts of a celebrity was not high on her priority list. Internally, Anastasia was struggling to hold herself together. Despite being only eleven, she was dealing with an identity crisis, and she was not prepared to handle the emotions that were washing over her.

Finally, the sorting came to a close. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore said a few words and magically summoned the food to appear before the students and professors. Conversation sparked as the Great Hall filled with excitement and the clamour of hundreds speaking at once. Anastasia tried to mindlessly eat while everyone around her relayed the excitement of their summers and introduced themselves to the various first years. She heard her fellow students mention their favorite textbooks and classes, topics she would have typically been interested in, but she was unable to take any of the information in.

It was a while before anyone spoke to Anastasia. The girl who did address her spoke in a sing-song voice despite speaking only barely above a whisper. The girl's voice was soft, much like the rest of her. "Will your parents be proud?" The question caught Anastasia off guard, and she finally looked up from her mostly full plate. The quiet girl had soft, blonde hair that traveled far down her back. Her silver eyes were full of kindness and happiness. From first glance, it appeared the girl could only express happiness and positivity. "My father will be. He'll be excited I can learn more and one day contribute to his magazine."

Scrambling to politely gather her thoughts, Anastasia gave a small smile. "I don't think so. My parents have high expectations, and one of those expectations was that I would be sorted into the house they were both in." Her gaze again dropped.

Instead of being a deterrent, the silence seemed to encourage the blonde. "Really? That must be unpleasant. My father just expects me to be happy. I'm Luna, by the way. Luna Lovegood."

The introduction was a shock. Anastasia wasn't expecting a complete stranger to be so kind to her. She looked up and prepared to introduce herself when an older boy, a third or fourth year, cut her off. "Don't speak to her," he curtly stated, giving Anastasia a look filled with hatred. "She'll never be one of us," he continued, never dropping his gaze. "She doesn't belong here, and it won't take long for everyone to realize it. Ravenclaw isn't a place for hate-filled people like you, Fawley. It's over at that table where you belong." His gaze was now focused on the Slytherin table, and his face filled with disgust. Shaking his head, he finally looked away and rejoined the conversation with others in his year.

Anastasia's face dropped back to her plate and her eyes filled with tears. It took all her self-control to bite back the sob forming in her chest. She knew where she belonged, but it wasn't her fault that she was sorted into a different house. It's not like she had asked to be sorted into Ravenclaw. If the Sorting Hat had asked her, she would have requested Slytherin anyway. It's where she wanted to be.

"Don't pay him any mind. What's your name? Fawley, he said?" Luna chirped sweetly.

Looking back up slowly, Anastasia smiled. For some unknown reason, this incredibly happy girl had decided the two would be friends. "Anastasia Fawley," she finally stated. If she could make a friend in her house on the first day, maybe things wouldn't be so bad./p


	2. Chapter 2

When the start-of-term feast ended, the Ravenclaw Prefects led the students back to Ravenclaw Tower. The Prefect informed the first-years that Ravenclaw students did not have a password to enter the common room. Instead, each student must answer a riddle, thus testing their wit. For the first time since being sorted, Anastasia felt she could find a home at Hogwarts after all. While she was not necessarily a fan of riddles, the continuous test of wit seemed exciting. Even if she found herself lacking stimulus within her classes, she would have to be stimulated before entering her own common room.

Anastasia followed the hoard of first-years into the common room and found herself stunned into shock. Not only was the space massive, but it was conducive to and encouraging of studying. The room was filled with couches and chairs, and the Ravenclaw blue that covered most of the walls and ceilings was calming. The color would clearly help calm nerves of any stressed student, and the comfy furniture allowed for lounging or relaxed studying.

The furniture and color of the space weren't even the best parts. From where she stood at the entryway, Anastasia heard the Prefect inform the first-years that the Ravenclaw library was in the back of the common room and was just as large as the school's library. "That is," he said, "if you convince the books you are worthy enough to see them. Some of the books may hide from students who are not advanced enough to understand the content or who fail to show the book the respect it thinks it deserves." The Prefect smiled as the eleven-year-olds gazed back at him in awe.

Finishing up the tour, the Prefect informed the first-years of curfew, mealtimes, and other miscellaneous restrictions and guidelines. When he had finished, he dismissed the students to do as they pleased for the remainder of the night. Most of them wandered up the stairs to the dormitory and found that their luggage had been left in front of beds. Anastasia located what would be her bed for the next seven years and began to search through her trunk. She found a piece of a parchment, a quill, and some ink and wandered back down to the common room. Older students were sprawled across couches and chairs as they chatted and played games. She made her way to a small desk along the edge of the room (there were no corners to hide in since Ravenclaw Tower is a circular tower) and began to write a letter.

 _Mother,_

 _Did you know the Sorting Hat could laugh? I did not until he laughed at me. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on my head, and, as I prepared to be sorted into Slytherin like you and father were, the hat laughed and informed everyone I belonged in Ravenclaw. I'm writing to you from Ravenclaw Tower._

 _Oh, Mother! I don't know what to do! I don't know why the Sorting Hat put me here, but I don't belong! Draco is in Slytherin, and so were you. Why am I so far away from the people who care about me? I don't understand._

 _I'm sorry if my sorting has disappointed you, Mother. I really wanted to be a Slytherin. I really did._

 _I love you and will write again soon._

 _Anastasia_

She rolled the piece of parchment up and made her way to the window. Someone had opened it to let in the cool, evening breeze, and there was a handful of owls sitting on the sill staring at the moon. Anastasia tied the parchment to the owl's leg and watched the bird fly away, disappearing into the dark night. Wandering back over to her quill and ink, she packed her things and headed to bed. Her first day of school was in the morning, and she had no doubt it would be a very long day.

* * *

The next morning, Anastasia arose and wandered down to breakfast on her own. She thought about inviting Luna to join her, but Anastasia was not yet comfortable initiating conversation with the girl. Instead, she gathered the books for her morning classes and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast alone. The hall was filled with students, but there was still plenty of places to sit at each house table.

Finding a large empty space at the Ravenclaw table, Anastasia sat down alone and began to survey the area. The array of food before her was magnificent. Everything she could have ever wanted for breakfast was available: pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, sausage, muffins, toast, the list went on and on. She assumed some must have been overwhelmed by the choices, but, sadly, she didn't find herself too hungry. Choosing a small portion of eggs, a few pieces of bacon, and some fresh fruit, she began to read one her books as she ate.

Anastasia was slightly self-conscious at eating alone in a room filled with people, but her book filled her with solace. She knew she was not an extremely social person, and her time at school was supposed to further her education. While she might make a handful of friends along the way, that wasn't the reason she was attending Hogwarts. The whole point was to learn, and she intended to learn as much as she possibly could in the next seven years.

Having long ago accepted this mindset, she happily ate breakfast alone. She was so engrossed in her book that Anastasia never noticed the shadow looming behind her. The shadow spoke before she realized anyone was near. "Haven't you finished that already?"

Startled, Anastasia jumped in her seat. She turned the shadow and found herself smiling so large that her cheeks would later hurt. "Draco," she whispered, relieved to see the boy again. It hadn't even been a whole day since the sorting ceremony, but Anastasia felt incredibly alone and abandoned. Draco's presence reassured her and acted as a reminder that her best friend would never leave her. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't; they were engaged after all. "I did finish the assigned book for Charms class, but I picked this up in the Ravenclaw library this morning. It's just some advanced charms."

Draco rolled his eyes and picked a bright, green apple off the serving platter before her. "Of course you are. I think we have class together. Are you ready?" He took a bite into the apple as he waited for her answer.

Nodding, Anastasia quickly gathered her books and stood. Their first class was Charms, but nothing exciting or educational really occurred there. She had already read the whole textbook, so the homework also failed to fascinate her.

Transfiguration was much better. Anastasia knew she was naturally gifted at Transfiguration because her father was an expert at it, but, without him to teach her, she had yet to learn much. Her mother wasn't inclined to teaching spells in the home before school anyway, but Anastasia had taken it upon herself to make Transfiguration a passion to study. Whenever she did meet her father, she intended to ask him all he knew about the subject and why Rosaline considered him gifted with it. Until then, she decided to make it her goal to be the top student in Transfiguration (it was actually her goal to be the top student in all classes, but this one took priority).

Professor McGonagall instructed the students on how to turn a match into a needle, and, after class had ended, only two students had accomplished the task. Anastasia was one, and the other girl was named Hermione Granger. Anastasia made a mental note to watch Granger in other classes. While she was not one for taking initiative and making friends, befriending her academic competition certainly wouldn't hurt.

Her next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the class was a complete waste. Professor Quirrell seemed consumed by anxiety, and Anastasia was not confident he would be effective in teaching them anything. If he was too nervous to lecture in front of a group of eleven-year-olds, how was he supposed to teach them spells and incantations to ward off dark magic? Rosaline didn't allow any books about dark magic or extremely powerful magic in the family library, so this was going to be the class Anastasia could learn from the most. She was quite disappointed to realize this was the class that would be the least educational.

As she stumbled down the hall after Defence Against the Dark Arts, she found herself disappointed. She knew reading ahead would cause the classes to be a little boring, but she was still hoping to learn something exciting on her first day. Changing a match into a needle was pretty cool, but, since so few students had accomplished the task, that was going to be the focus of the class for the remainder of the week. One day of excitement would now lead to many filled with boredom.

While thinking about how disappointing her classes would be, she was making her way with the rest of the crowd of first-years toward the staircase for potions class. Just as she was about to step onto the stairs, they moved away from her. Anastasia stomped a foot in irritation. How was she supposed to make it to class promptly if the stairs moved away at the last second? Now she would have to wait for the stairs to reappear, and she wasn't sure how long that would take.

She was looking around for another landing of stairs to take when Draco caught her eye at the end of the hall. He smiled at her and turned a corner. Following him, she found herself facing a back set of stairs. She smiled and followed Draco down a maze of stairs and halls she hadn't seen yet. Draco knew exactly where the classroom was and how to navigate the strangely deserted halls and stairs, and Anastasia assumed this was due to the Slytherin dormitory being located in the dungeons. She highly doubted Draco went to the trouble of scoping out his classrooms or researching secret ways around Hogwarts.

When they reached the classroom, Anastasia noticed the tables were split to allow two students at each. All their other classes so far had pretty carefully divided the students by house, but this was not the case in the potions room. Most students sat with others from their house, but there was some variety. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting together, so she smiled knowing Draco would choose to sit with her over a stranger in his own house. The two didn't talk before class started, and they hadn't spoken since he found her at breakfast hours before. She didn't really feel there was anything to say. Part of her wanted to apologize, but it didn't seem like the correct time or place. They were surrounded by other students, and, while she was incredibly upset over being sorted into Ravenclaw, it didn't seem to bother Draco. He had come to retrieve her from breakfast and saved her from waiting on the main staircase, and that had to mean they were on good terms, right?

Anastasia thought her and Draco would be some of the last students entering the room, but this wasn't the case. A boy with bright hair and one with dark hair and glasses entered. She watched as the boy with flaming red hair sat a few rows in front of her, and his appearance recalled some statements Lucius had made about a family of redheads. The statements were not in any way kind, so Anastasia made a point to drop that train of thought. As much as she respected Lucius, she didn't want her opinion of someone damaged by the harsh words of another. That was no way to make friends, and she certainly didn't have room to pick and choose who her friends might be so early on in the term. Besides Draco, not a single person had spoken to her yet. The blonde from last night, Luna, was obviously in all of the first-year classes, but the girl always seemed to be distracted and staring into a distant corner of whatever classroom they were in.

Professor Snape entered the room, and Anastasia recognized him as a sometimes guest of Malfoy Manor. She knew Professor Snape had attended school at the same time as her mother, but he never visited their home. Professor Snape was good friends with the Malfoys, but not to the point that Anastasia knew him extremely well. It was still enough to make her feel comfortable in the classroom and eager to learn from someone her family respected.

While taking roll, Professor Snape made a snide remark about Harry Potter. Anastasia knew the boy was in every class with her and every professor had stumbled over his name, but she still hadn't found herself too distracted by him. She knew he was the "celebrity" of the school, as Professor Snape had noted, but that had nothing to do with her. The last thing she wanted was to become distracted by someone so absorbed in his fame that studying didn't matter. She decided she was much better off learning on her own than befriending "The Boy Who Lived."

Anastasia also decided that potions might end up being a good class. Professor Snape had them mix a potion despite it being the first day, and her and Draco were paired together to share a cauldron. Much to her surprise, Draco was good at potions. He was able to follow the directions exactly, and Professor Snape complimented the two on their success. The pride she felt was short-lived as another pair melted their pot and covered the floor in a boiling potion. Anastasia couldn't help but laugh with Draco as Professor Snape began to yell at the students who created the mess.

When the class came to an end, Anastasia packed her things and began to head back toward the abandoned stairs Draco had showed her. She wasn't interested in getting caught in the mess of students stumbling up the stairs, and she definitely didn't want the stairs to abandon her again. She was just about to begin climbing the stairs out of the dungeon when she heard someone call her name. Turning, she saw Draco fast-walking toward her. Her face became shrouded in a puzzled look. She didn't forget any of her school items, so Draco following her didn't make sense.

"I wish you were in Slytherin too," he said, handing her a small item before walking away. Anastasia watched him round the corner before looking down at the item in her hand. It was the chocolate frog card for Mirabella Plunkett that she had received yesterday. _I must have left it on the train, and he kept it for me_ , she thought, smiling as a blush spread across her cheeks. Squeezing the card in her hand, she made her way up the stairs and back to Ravenclaw Tower.

* * *

Anastasia spent the remainder of her first day doing homework assignments, but the assignments didn't take long. When they were complete, she returned to reading until she fell asleep. Her dreams were filled with laughter and ridicule directed toward her. Rather than receiving a restful sleep, Anastasia tossed and turned as people laughed at her for being placed where she didn't belong. In her common room, students laughed. In the Great Hall, Slytherins laughed. At home, her parents laughed. She had failed them all, and now they would haunt her in her dreams.

When she finally awoke, Anastasia was drenched in sweat and was knotted into the sheets. She scrambled to get ready and shower before making her way down to breakfast. The last thing she wanted after a night of bad dreams was to arrive late and hungry to class. While she might have proved herself to her professors so far, it was important for her to continue making a good impression, and the new day brought a handful of new classes. She still had not yet been to History of Magic, Astronomy, or Flying. None of these classes interested her, but they were still educational opportunities that she needed to take advantage of.

Her plan was to quickly eat, but an onslaught of owls overtook the Great Hall. Letters dropped everywhere along the four student tables. She was shocked by the sheer number of owls and letters, and she watched as the parchment fell like snow. A single letter landed before her and had her name sprawled across it. Reaching for the letter, Anastasia found herself hesitant to open it. She had expected a letter from her mother, but the handwriting on the envelope was not Rosaline's. There wasn't a single person she could think of who would write to her, so she found herself nervous to open the letter.

Unable to resist reading what the letter contained, she opened it anyway.

 _My dearest Anastasia,_

 _Your mother informed me of your sorting, and I can not be more proud. You will prove to be the smartest Fawley yet. Do not fret._

 _I will see you soon, my little one._

 _Your Father_

Anastasia stared at the letter. She had never received a letter from her father before. She didn't know her mother was even in contact with him. This was the first memory she would have of her father, and she was confused by it. She didn't understand why he would choose to contact her now of all times. And why write so little? Why was it so important to him that she accept her placement within Ravenclaw?

Her father might have written to help calm her nerves, but the letter accomplished the opposite. Instead of relieved that her father would accept her placement, Anastasia was now concerned as to why he chose this time in her life to initiate contact. Should she write him back? Would he see it? Where would she send it? Will he write again? She knew from overhearing her mother's conversation with the Malfoys that her father would return soon, but she wasn't entirely sure when that was. Most likely, she wouldn't see him until the end of term, but she had no idea how to react when she met him. Most girls don't meet their fathers for the first time at age eleven. She was completely lost, and, if she sat any longer thinking about it, she would be late to class as well.

Placing the letter carefully in the cover of one of her books, Anastasia hurried to class. She had hoped Draco might come fetch her from the breakfast table again, but, after giving the Slytherin table a quick glance, she saw that he was nowhere to be found. He had clearly left for class without her. It hurt to know that he didn't make the effort to walk her to class again, but she recognized that it was silly for her to expect him to wait on her every morning. He had friends within Slytherin already, and he would only make more as school went on. She was the one who failed to fit in, and she was the one who couldn't seem to make any friends. There was no reason for him to waste his time on her if he didn't have to.

By the time she made it to class, there was only a single empty seat. As she made her way toward it, Anastasia realized she would be sitting next to Hermione Granger, the girl who had also transfigured a match into a needle. It appeared no one in Gryffindor was willing to sit next to the girl. Anastasia wasn't entirely sure why no one would sit next to Granger, but she understood the feeling of being all alone despite being surrounded by people she was supposed to relate to. Deciding it was now or never, she sat down and introduced herself.

"Hello, I'm Anastasia Fawley."

"My name is Hermione Granger. You turned your match into a needle yesterday, didn't you? I had been up late studying that spell; it's very lucky I was able to do it on the first day," the girl responded. Hermione's hair was a curly mess that invaded the space around her head. Anastasia wasn't sure if a spell would have been strong enough to lay the hair flat. She found herself stroking her suddenly boring, straight hair as the other girl spoke. "What made you sit next to me? No one seems to like me. It's because I study too much, but why are you here and not with your house?"

Anastasia internally cringed. She wasn't expecting Hermione to be talkative, but she understood the need to talk to the only person who seemed willing to associate with her. If she had barely spoken to anyone since arriving at school, she would probably be bursting with opinions too. "I don't really belong in Ravenclaw. I love to study and read, but my family seems to have acquired a negative reputation for being made of Purebloods."

Hermione nodded, seeming to understand. "Both my parents are muggles, so some people here don't like me much either. I'm here to learn about magic, so it's okay. Friendship comes second to an education," she said, smiling in an attempt to reassure herself.

While Anastasia wasn't sure if the two would become close, she felt better knowing there was another person feeling as alone as she was. She found herself continually thinking that education is more important than friends, so knowing that Hermione was coping with loneliness in the same way was reassuring. It meant that, no matter how alone she felt, there was someone else who felt the same way. Hermione's loneliness saddened Anastasia, and she wished the curly-haired girl had been sorted into Ravenclaw as well. At least then they could have been lonely and studious together.

Anastasia quietly made her way through the day. She didn't speak to anyone after introducing herself to Hermione, but she was proud of herself for taking that initiative. Yesterday she had talked to Draco, and Luna had introduced herself the day before. One friend a day was good...right?

Stepping outside, Anastasia felt refreshed by the green grass and the breeze off of the lake. Her next class was Flying, so her afternoon would be spent outside. She had grown up flying around her backyard and the Malfoy Manor, so the class seemed silly to her. It would be fairly basic, but at least it allowed her to be outside while the weather was still nice. Having so many classes kept her schedule full and left her stuck in the castle from nearly dawn until dusk. The silly flying class would be appreciated just because it allowed her to roam free, even if it was only for a little while.

Before class began, she overheard Draco bragging to other Slytherin students about how skilled at flying he was. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Draco and her flew together often back home, and, while he was good, the bragging was unnecessary. It wasn't like he could do anything about it. No matter how much he complained, he wasn't going to make the quidditch team as a first-year; no one did that. He would have to wait and try-out next year. Until then, his bragging was just silly. She thought his time could have been better spent studying.

Draco finally stopped bragging when Madam Hooch arrived and began instructing the students on how to summon their broom, mount it, fly, and land. Anastasia was able to summon her broom into her hand fairly easily, and so were a handful of other students. She didn't credit this to being smart; it was just experience with a broom. If flying were based on wits, she wouldn't have watched Hermione struggle with the broom. After all, Hermione had already proven herself to be the best competition Anastasia was going to encounter. It simply seemed that Flying was not going to be a class that Hermione immediately excelled in.

Anastasia was ready to begin hovering on her broom when the boy who melted his cauldron the day before lost control of his broom and floated dangerously high into the air. Madam Hooch began yelling for him to land, but the boy just kept screaming. No matter what he did, the broom continued to ascend. She began to run the charms she had studied thus far through her head; perhaps Madam Hooch would choose one to bring the boy back to the ground, and Anastasia would be given the chance to see the charm first-hand. However, before that happened, the boy fell off the broom and plummeted to the ground.

The group of first-years gasped simultaneously as Madam Hooch rushed to the boy's side. Madam Hood muttered something about a broken wrist before leading the boy inside and ordering everyone else to remain on the ground. Anastasia felt sorry for the injured boy, but she was annoyed that she didn't have a book. While she was excited to be outside, she didn't want to just stand in silence and wait for her professor to return. Lucky for her, Draco had other things in mind.

He picked up an item the injured boy had left on the ground and began arguing with Potter about it. Refusing to return it to Potter, Draco hopped onto his broom and hovered a few feet in the air. Anastasia heard Hermione inform Potter not to be so stupid as to get on his broom, but the boy did it anyway. Annoyed that Draco was being so reckless, Anastasia pushed her way through the crowd and up to his side.

"Draco, get down this instant!" she yelled at him. "Give the ball back and get off your stupid broom!"

"Who are you, his mom?" Pansy Parkinson sneered. If Draco had momentarily considered listening to Anastasia, he certainly wasn't going to now. Parkinson was encouraging his reckless behavior, and Anastasia knew he wouldn't dismount from his broom after someone challenged his independence and authority. She knew Draco liked to feel important, and being a bully who ignored his best friend and received cheers of encouragement from his housemates made him feel important. Anastasia felt defeated and hurt. It was no use trying to talk Draco down at this point, so she watched as he flew higher and higher, allowing Potter to chase him in search of the trinket.

Giving up on the chase, Draco threw the trinket and flew back to the ground. To everyone's surprise, Potter chased the item down, faster and faster, until he caught it before tumbling off his broom. Before anyone had time to react, Professor McGonagall stormed out of the building and escorted Potter inside. Gryffindor students began to whisper concerns about Potter being expelled for disobeying Madam Hooch's order while Slytherin students gathered around Draco to congratulate him on showing Potter who's in charge. Anastasia saw the look of pride on Draco's face and shook her head. She had thought that his choice to walk to class with her yesterday and the words he uttered while returning her chocolate frog card meant that the two would remain best friends, but her initial fears had been right: the two lived in two separate worlds now. More than likely, the young girl had just lost her best and only friend.

* * *

After dinner that night, Anastasia made her way to the library. She had tried studying in the Ravenclaw common room after Flying, but other students kept whispering about her being from an evil family. It was killing her to listen to people talk about her family like that. She knew before coming to school that some people disliked families within the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but that didn't mean she was evil for being a Pureblood witch. Her family took pride in their lineage, and she couldn't understand why that was such a problem. Lots of families took pride in having Purebloods. It didn't make sense to her why the older students looked at her like she was dangerous.

So, unable to bare the harsh looks and cruel words any longer, she retreated to the safety of the library. Far fewer people spent their time there, and she knew she'd be safe from the onslaught of hate that seemed to surround her whenever she was near other students. All she wanted to do was read in peace, and the library allowed for that. It was too early in the term for most students to care about the library, and the few who were present were so engrossed in their studies that they didn't notice her enter and sit at an empty table.

Accepting that Professor Quirrell would be a useless Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Anastasia pulled a stack of books on basic defense spells. If her professor was not interested in teaching her what she needed to know, she would learn it herself. It would be hard to understand the spells without practice, but at least she could learn the required actions and pronunciations of each. A little knowledge was better than no knowledge at all.

She had made it through a few of the spells before someone sat across from her at the table. Looking up, Anastasia was surprised to find Draco. "What do you want?" she spat out, still upset from being ignored during Flying.

"Why are you here all alone?" he asked, his voice soft.

"I'm trying to study, Draco. Don't you have someone to bully?"

His face hardened at her jab. It was unlike Anastasia to try and hurt his feelings or insult him, but the loneliness was getting to her. "You don't understand, Ana. Potter's not all the stories say he is. You've heard how Father speaks of him. I'm not going to give him respect he doesn't deserve."

She sighed. The comment her mother had made before they left for school shopping in Diagon Alley rang through her ears: _I'm filling her head with manners, Lucius. Something your son could stand to learn from._ Draco _could_ stand to learn some manners, but Anastasia knew it was useless to argue with him. Lucius Malfoy had a mean streak in him, and he made sure his son inherited it. The hateful comments that were common within Malfoy Manor were one of the things Anastasia's mother strictly prohibited within their own home.

Looking into her best friend's eyes, Anastasia wanted to cry. She felt so alone, and he didn't seem to notice. "I wasn't just talking about Potter, Draco. You...you ignored me."

Draco looked away. He knew ignoring Anastasia would hurt her, but, in the moment, it didn't matter to him. He was more concerned with humiliating Potter, and he had achieved that. It made him the talk of Slytherin House for the rest of the day. _If she was just in Slytherin, she would understand_ , he thought. Without her being around the people he was around, there was no way to convince her of the importance of showing strength and completing actions that would bring pride upon both the house and his family. "Ana, I'm-I'm sorry, okay? You just don't understand. It looks bad for me to be talking to you. People are saying you weren't sorted into Slytherin because you're not a Pureblood."

Anastasia was shocked. Part of her was humiliated by the rumors that her family lineage was stained, but the other part of her was furious that Draco would allow such rumors to interfere with their friendship. She was so angry that she stood and slammed her hands against the table. " _I_ don't understand? _You_ don't understand, Draco! I _am_ a Pureblood, and you know that! That's why no one in Ravenclaw will talk to me! No one will even _sit_ next to me because of my lineage, but my lineage isn't good enough for you and your Slytherin friends anymore? FINE! Then don't bother talking to me at all!" She slammed her book shut and stormed out of the library.

Draco remained seated at the table, stunned that she was angry, stunned that she yelled, and stunned that she walked away from him. He was the one with the rash temper, not her. He hadn't meant to upset her by saying that people didn't trust her lineage; he was just explaining why he couldn't be seen talking to or listening to her. Draco was certain the rumors would die down in a few days or weeks, and Draco had planned on sticking it out until then. Now it looked like Anastasia wasn't going to give him the chance.

As a still extremely angry Anastasia climbed into bed, her only regret of the day was not bringing the Defense Against the Dark Arts books with her from the library.


	3. Chapter 3

Anastasia spent the next few weeks avoiding Draco. She didn't take the back staircase to classes, she ate all her meals as early as possible to ensure he wouldn't be there, and she sat next to Hermione Granger in potions, leaving Draco to sit with Pansy Parkinson. Parkinson clearly didn't mind the pairing, but Draco's look of disgust and irritation every day satisfied Anastasia to no end. While she might have been the one who blew up and walked away, Draco was the one who said he couldn't afford to be seen with her. As far as she was concerned, he was the one who ruined their friendship. She knew they would have to talk over the holiday break when they were both home together, but she could get away with ignoring him until then. It was a lot easier than dealing with how upset she felt every time she looked at him and remembered how much she missed him.

The worst part was not really having anyone to talk to. During classes, she spent her time with Hermione, and the two grew accustomed to the hateful looks everyone shot their way. They chose to believe the looks were because they were the top two students in the class, but Anastasia knew that wasn't the whole reason. Slytherin students would look at them with hate because Hermione was a mudblood, and adequate reason for Purebloods to hate someone, but also because Anastasia was "tainting" her bloodline by associate with a mudblood. She knew everyone thought she was a disgrace, but she didn't care. They were the ones who chose not to associate with her at the beginning of term, and so she was now associating with the only person who would talk to her.

It was nice having an intelligent friend. The Ravenclaw students were, for the most part, intelligent, but they weren't fond of her. Luna was a sweetheart who sat with Anastasia at meals and spoke to her in passing, but the two weren't necessarily close friends. Anastasia found herself fascinated with the tales Luna told and eagerly read the _The Quibbler_ in an attempt to understand the nonsense Luna spouted, but the two never confided in each other or talked about anything personal. She mostly spent that time learning more about magical creatures, even if there was no evidence that most of these creatures existed. It gave her something to study outside of the unfortunately boring class regimen.

Her newfound friendship with Hermione helped the classes seem less boring simply because she wasn't bored by herself. The two would inform each other of their personal research before and after courses, but much of Hermione's research was focused on the history of magic, something Anastasia didn't find herself fasctinated by. Having been raised as a witch, she had always known about magic and understood that there were various branches to study and a whole shelf in her father's library dedicated just to history. For Hermione, having never been exposed to magic, this information was all incredibly fascinating. Anastasia assured her that they could venture into her family library and research together at some point.

Her mother would be fine with having a mudblood guest...right? Her mother had enver taught her predujices, so she just assumed her mother didn't hold them. It was obvious that the families they associated with, such as the Malfoys, held predujices, but Anastasia didn't think her family held any. Perhaps her father did though? She knew her father was best friends with Lucius Malfoy, so, if Lucius held hatred in his heart, it was possible that her father did as well. That seemed odd considering her mother was so kind hearted, but it was always an option.

If her father was a hateful person, she would find out soon. When she returned home on winter holiday, he would be there. Whenever she thought about meeting her father, she became anxious. There was a lot of pressure for her to be the perfect daughter. It had been ten years since he had seen her, so Anastasia had no idea what he expected. She had no memory of him and only knew his image from family portraits that include him located around the manor. Did he know what she looked like? Had her mother written to him often about her, or just recently since she was no longer in the house?

There was just so many questions she had to ask. Her mother had never informed her as to why he was in Askaban, and she desperately wanted to know what was so important to him that he was willing to live away from his wife and child for a decade. She also wanted to know why her mothere hadn't brought Anastasia to see her father since infancy. Draco had mentioned the visits on the train, and she desperately wanted to know why the visits happened and then stopped. It didn't make sense to her to deny a father his child and a child her father.

"Anastasia?"

Looking up, she realized class had ended while she focused on her own problems. It was unlike her to pay more attention to herself than to what was going on in the classroom, but apparently that was what had happened today. She smiled and stood to walk out of the room with Hermione. They had just finished Charms class, and both her and Hermione had easily levitated the feathers they had been provided. Most of the class struggled through the rest of the class, and one student managed to blow up his father. Anastasia found herself quite exhasperated at the number of reckless explosions that were occurring in her classes. The lessons thus far really were not that difficult.

"Can you believe Ron? He kept saying the incantation wrong and then got mad _at me_ for doing it right!"

Hermione was clearly aggrevated, and Anastasia felt bad for not noticing what had occurred during class. She was just too distracted by her own issues to take notice of anything going on around her. Taking care to listen now, she had to think carefully about who Ron was. _Weasley_ , she thought. Hermione was upset about the flaming redhead who couldn't seem to care less about his education.

"Oh! There he is! I'll let him know I'm free to help in the evenings if he wants to practice the pronounciation of his spells," Hermione said, speeding up a little to catch up to Weasley and Potter.

"Wait!" Anastasia called, trying to catch up with her friend. If she had learned anything at Hogwarts, it was that people who didn't care about school didn't want other people helping them.

She caught up to Hermione just in time to hear Weasley say, "She's a nightmare, honestly," to Potter. Hermione took off running, and Anastasia knew the girl was crying. The boys stopped in their tracks, surprised that they had been overheard.

"What the hell is your problem?" Anastasia yelled, pushing them out of the way. "I never thought I'd say this, but maybe the Slytherins are right about you, Potter." She made her way toward Hermione, leaving the still astonished boys in the dust. By the time she rounded the corner, the curly-haired girl was nowhere to be seen. Before she had time to search the halls and rooms, someone grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into a different corridor.

Turning, she was surprised to see Draco was the one holding her arm. They hadn't spoken since she walked out of the library over two months ago. He had tried pulling her aside before, but normally she was paying enough attention to shake him off. This time she had been too focused on Hermione to see him coming.

"What do you want?" she spat out, trying to break from his grasp.

"We need to talk, Ana," he said, letting her go to stop the struggle. "You've been avoiding me all term."

"Because I'm not a good enough Pureblood for you, Draco!" her intent had been to not get emotional, but she just couldn't help it. As much as she hated to admit to it, she did miss him. It was hard not to run to him every time she had something exciting to share.

"You know that's not true, Anastasia! You're acting crazy! And Pansy Parkinson said her parents are going to try and get us _married_! You have to be my potions partner again."

She couldn't help but laugh. " _Parkinson_ thinks she's going to marry _you_? Draco, I could never speak to you again, and we would still get married."

"Try telling that to Parkinson," he muttered, clearly relieved that she was no longer yelling. "If you keep talking to that mudblood, I'm not sure Father will support this marriage much longer."

"He will, Draco. No one else can put up with you like I can."

"Then why won't you talk to me anymore?" he voice was sad. She found herself surprised at his tone; Draco never showed emotion. He wouldn't admit to it, but he was sad. Crabbe and Goyle were good cronies, but they were useless for conversation. If Hogwarts failed students out, the two were definitely well on their way. He wasn't studious by any means, but he found himself missing Anastasia's unrelenting fun facts.

The last thing he would ever do would be to admit to her how much he missed her, but he did. He thought of it every day. They had spent their childhoods expecting to be side-by-side for their seven years of school, and now he had spent two months away from her. His mother kept sending letters asking about how Anastasia was doing, and he kept ignoring the questions. He had idea idea how she was doing, and he didn't know how to convince her to be his friend again.

"Because you'll only talk to me if I don't talk to other people. That's not how friends treat each other, Draco."

"You don't see what you're doing is bad! Just imagine what our parents will say when they find out who you've been associating with!"

"My father told me he's proud I'm a Ravenclaw!"

Draco's shock was apparent; she hadn't spoken to him about her father yet. Even she was shocked she said it just now. It hadn't been planned. She had planned on telling him months ago: if they had been speaking, he would have known almost immediately about the letter.

"How-how do you know? Have you seen him? Was he here? At school?"

"No," she shook her head and dropped her gaze as she spoke. "He wrote me a letter. He called me "little one" like Mother does. I assume she told him I'm in Ravenclaw. I didn't know she was in contact with him."

"Has he written to you since? Is he-is he out yet?"

"No; I don't know when he'll be out. Just by Christmas," she finally raised her gaze again. It felt good to be telling all of this to Draco. She had wanted to tell him since she received the letter, but she refused to be the first one to speak. While the Sorting Hat might have believed she was a better fit in Ravenclaw, she certainly had the pride of a Slytherin.

The two stood in silence. Draco wasn't sure what to say. He knew Anastasia must have been nervous about her father's return and confused about the letter, but it wasn't clear if the two were friends yet or not. Anastasia wasn't sure about the friend thing either, and she didn't have any of the answers he clearly wanted. She knew Draco was just concerned for her, but she just didn't know anything. Her mother hadn't included any information about her father in any letter, so Anastasia was completely in the dark.

"I-I should go find Hermione. Potter and Weasley were horrible to her," she stuttered out, trying to find a way to get free of his gaze.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from trash like them," his voice was dripping with hatred.

"Careful, Draco. It almost sounds like you're defending a mudblood," she said, laughing as she walked away. For some reason, it was hard to walk away from him, but she knew she needed to leave. Their friendship would take time, but her laughter and desire to be near him was a good sign.

Now that she was away from him, she was able to focus more clearly on finding Hermione. Too much time had passed for her to just easily round corners in search of the other girl. The corridors had cleared, and there was no one in sight. It was almost dinner time, and she knew that was where most of the students were. That fact should make finding Hermione easier; the girl wouldn't want to be around her housemates who were just so cruel to her.

Anastasia decided the library would be the best place to look first. While she wasn't sure if Hermione would actually go there to get away from everyone, that's exactly where Anastasia would choose to hide. She began winding through the halls toward the staircase. From where she currently was in the dungeon, she needed to make her way up a few floors. She was just about to mount another set of stairs when someone called her name.

"Mi-mi-miss Fawley?"

Turning, she saw Professor Quirrell leading Draco up the stairs from the dungeon. "Yes, Professor?"

"C-c-come on down to d-d-dinner," he responded gesturing back toward the Great Hall. "Th-the-there's been some concerns about students n-n-not eating, so I'm making sure that d-d-doesn't happen."

The last thing she was concerned with at the moment was dinner, but she couldn't say no to a professor. Having him follow her about wouldn't help things any, but she also didn't want to leave Hermione all alone . . . wherever she was.

"I'll make sure she eats, Professor," Draco cheerfully chimed. Anastasia scowled at him before descending back down the stairs.

"Th-th-thank you, Mister Malfoy. I'll be heading upst-st-stairs to check on the rest of your classmates."

"What did yo-" she began, ready to yell at him for taking responsibility for her.

"Shut it," he cut her off. "Just after you left, Quirrell showed up saying students weren't allowed in the halls during meals. He's bloody crazy, but the last thing you need is a crazy man saying you're playing hide-and-seek with a mudblood while the halls are supposed to be cleared."

Anastasia was suspicious, but she kept her mouth shut. She knew there was no rule about the halls being clear during dinner; students were allowed to come and go as they pleased. The only major rules at Hogwarts had been declared the first night at dinner: no traveling to the third floor, no staying out past curfew, and no entry into the Forbidden Forest. All of the rules were fairly easy to maintain, so she had yet to hear about anyone earning detention for breaking them. She hadn't even seen a professor trying to enter the third floor. At least, not until she turned to look at the staircase again and watched Professor Quirrell step off onto that very same floor.

Her suspicion increased, but, as Draco led her into the Great Hall, she realized there was nothing she could do about it now. It would seem strange for her to walk into the hall and then walk immediately back out. Instead, she smiled at Draco as the two parted ways toward their house tables. She took an empty seat next to Luna and listened as the girl rambled on about an invisible creature who enjoyed playing tricks. Logic told Anastasia that the "creature" was most likely a poltergeist, but she was too distracted to argue. Her eyes were focused on the Gryffindor table where Hermione was absent.

Smiling at Luna, she began to stand to excuse herself when Professor Quirrell came running into the hall. "Troll - in the dungeons - thought you ought to know," he gasped out before falling to the floor, apparently having fainted.

As he fell to the ground, all of the students began to panic. Looking up at the table of professors, Anastasia saw that some of them too were panicking. She was too busy thinking about how a troll could have gotten into Hogwarts, how to defeat a troll, and where in the hell Hermione was to be bothered with panicking. Crises were a time for quick thought and use of one's education, not for crying and screaming like children.

While everyone was behaving like the world was ending, Dumbledore directed all of the students to return to their houses. All of the professors stood and began making their way into the halls to guide the students and to search through the dungeon. Anastasia began to fall the rest of her classmates up to Ravenclaw Tower. Upon climbing the stairs, she noticed Potter and Weasley abandoning their house. _What in Merlin's name are they doing?_ she thought, pausing on the stairs to watch as the boys snuck down the hall. As she watched them disappear out of sight, Anastasia realized they were heading toward the back staircase that led to the dungeon, the one Draco had shown her on the first day of classes.

When she reached the appropriate landing, she began down the hall in an attempt to follow them. The only reason she could think of them leaving the safety of their house was to find Hermione. They might have been the reason the girl ran off crying, but apparently neither one of them was cruel enough to let her die at the hands of a troll. That was a comforting thought.

"Miss Fawley!" Anastasia cringed as Professor Snape rounded a corner in front of her. "The Headmaster instructed all students to return to their common rooms. What are you doing roaming the halls?" She tried to think of an excuse but was cut off by Professor Snape's next statement: "Never mind. Follow me, girl. Your mother would kill me if I left you wandering around like an idiot while a troll ran wild. Keep quiet, and stay behind me. You will not speak of this to anyone, do you understand?"

Nodding, she began to follow her professor down the hall. He began to lead her to the third floor corridor where students were forbidden to enter. She wanted to remind him of this rule but felt it was better to remain silent than to upset Professor Snape. If he wanted, he could give her weeks of detention for being out after instructed to stay in the common room, but, instead, he had chosen to escort her and protect her. Clearly, there was much more going on than she had realized.

Professor Snape stopped in front of a large door and instructed her to stand there until he returned. He entered the room and closed the door behind him, and Anastasia could hear what sounded like furniture moving. At least, she assumed it must have been furniture. The noise was so loud that she couldn't think of a single thing lighter than a cabinet that could make it. When Professor Snape exited into the hall a few moments after the noise, he was panting and cursing under his breath. A long gash was visible on his leg as blood began to pool on his clothes.

"Professor," she whispered, pointing down to his leg.

"Not now, girl," he spat at her, quickly moving down the hall toward the stairs. "We must get to the dungeon. Come, now." Stopping suddenly, he turned to her. "Did you see anything in that room?"

"No, sir, but please, why am I going to the dungeon with you? Why did you not just escort me back to my common room?"

"There are more important things to be done than protecting insolent children. You're one of the smartest in your year; I'd think you would have figured out that protecting against a troll was more important than babysitting."

Turning away from her, Professor Snape began toward the dungeon, moving so fast that Anastasia nearly had to run to keep up with him. "If it's so important that you protect against the troll, then why did you come up here to the third floor? Professor Dumbledore said no one was to come up here this year. What's in that room?" Her mind was racing with all the questions she wanted answers to. There was so much she didn't know, and Anastasia hated not knowing things.

"Quiet, girl," Professor Snape muttered. "You will not speak of this trip, and you will not speak out of turn to a professor, do you hear me?" She fell silent, and Professor Snape took that as a yes.

Despite the limp forming due to his injured leg, Professor Snape made it to the dungeon in almost record time. No one would assume he had traveled up to the third floor and back down before finding Professor McGonagall frantically searching the halls for the invasive troll. Upon catching sight of Anastasia, Professor McGonagall abruptly stopped her search and gasped. "Severus! What were you thinking bringing a child down here? WIth a troll on the loose no less!"

"She had been separated from her house, and I thought it safer to escort her here than to allow her to wander the castle alone," he explained, quickly creating an alibi for his and Anastasia's whereabouts. It appeared Professor Snape was not interested in explaining his search of the third floor to Professor McGonagall, a fact that only made Anastasia far more interested in the secrets being kept about Hogwarts.

Before anyone had a chance to speak further, crashing sounds could be heard at the far end of the hall. Both professors began to run after the noise, and Anastasia tried as best she could to keep up. Suddenly, she was incredibly afraid of the troll. She knew better than to let fear overwhelm her, but it had never been her intention to come into contact with a monster like this. The only reason she was even out and not safely in her common room was to try and protect her friend, and Anastasia had no idea where Hermione even was.

As the trio continued down the hall, they began splashing in water overflowing from the ladies' lavatory at the end of the hall. Anastasia watched as the professors charged into the lavatory, and, by the time she had caught up to them, she realized they were blocking the door, barring her from entering. She knew the troll must be in that room, but neither professor was casting spells or reciting incantations; they were both talking. Others must have been on the other side of the door, but Anastasia could not hear their voices or see them.

Professor Quirrell suddenly appeared at her side, and he pushed his way past the other two professors into the room. A moment after his entry, Hermione walked out. "You're safe!" Anastasia gasped, relieved to see her friend again.

"Anastasia? What are you doing down here?" Hermione looked exhausted; her clothes were soaking wet, her hair as a mess, and it was obvious from the streaks on her face that she had been crying recently.

"I came looking for you. I tried after you ran off from Potter and Weasley, but Draco stopped me, and then Professor Quirrell, and then Professor Snape found me and brought me here," she responded, suddenly shocked at all the effort she went to find her friend.

"Harry and Ron...they saved me from the troll," Hermione whispered, clearly still shocked by all that had occurred. "We need to get back to our dormitories! I'll see you tomorrow in class?" Hermione smiled and began darting down the hall.

Anastasia was hesitant to leave without Professor Snape's permission, but, if Hermione had been dismissed back to her dormitory, it seemed best that Anastasia return to hers as well. Taking one last look at the lavatory, she began her way back to the stairs and to Ravenclaw Tower.


End file.
